We felt the need to bring a little spring into the holiday this year with scented herbal dough. I made a batch of pink rose petal scented dough and Fauna made a batch of purple lavender scented dough.

You need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
1 tablespoon canola oil (or any other oil you have on hand)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
3-4 drops essential oil (we used rose and lavender)
food coloring (we used purple and red)
2 tablespoons dry  herbal leaves or flowers (we used lavender buds and rose petals)

To make:

1. Add a couple drops of the food coloring into the 1 cup of water.
2. Put flour, salt, cream of tartar, oil, and tinted water into a medium sauce pan.
3. Cook the mixture over medium heat until it bubbles, stirring constantly until it thickens.
4. Remove from heat then stir in a few drops of essential oil and the dried herbs or flowers.
5. Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.
6. You can store any leftover dough in an airtight container or leave the creations out to airdry.
     *They take about a week to dry and they will fade in color a little bit. The lavender dough has kept its scent the best.

 Fauna  made some snails, Araina made a cat with a bed and ball of string, and we all made hearts.

We strung the hearts to hang in our windows and on bookcase knobs (don’t forget to add holes if you want to string them).

“That’s all,”
 Lisa

 You should have 3 pieces: 2 full moons and one crescent moon. Pin the crescent moon onto one of the gray circles. Leave the other gray circle as is, this will be your full moon piece.

 Now split stitch the eyes and craters on the full moon piece.

 Whip stitch the crescent moon to it’s gray backing.

 
Step 3: Stitching the moons together

Put right sides together of both moons now. Blanket stitch or whip stitch the moons together, leaving a small opening for stuffing and the herbs. I did a blanket stitch here.

You need:
-long sleeve shirt with buttoned cuffs
-2 cups of herbs- we used evergreen needles and lavender but of course you could use any herb mixture for this sachet; I think fir needles, dried orange peel, and cloves will be our next mix
-thread
-needle or sewing machine

To do:
1. Cut a sleeve off  the shirt making it 15 inches long from the bottom of the buttoned cuff.
2. Leave the sleeve right-side out, sew a straight seam close to the cut, making a pocket for the herbs.

3. Turn the sleeve inside out and unbutton.

4. Stuff with about 2 cups of herbs.

4. Sew a straight seam to close up the herb pocket. This is a little tricky because the herbs will want to spill out, decrease the amount of herbs if need be.

5. Pull the cuff over the herb pillow so the right side of the cuff is showing, then button the cuff.

There you have it, a sachet for the gentlemen in your life. Now, Dave just laughed when I told him it was a gentleman’s sachet, and the little ladies took off with them and put them under their pillows. They were pretty sentimental about them because they were made from Dave’s old shirts.

Another idea using evergreen needles is Julia Daby’s balsam squirrel, directions at  the wonderful Rhythm of the Home online publication. Be sure to visit all the wonderful articles there! Enjoy!

What you need:
sprigs of lavender (dry or fresh)
sprigs of rosemary (dry or fresh)
water
enamel pot

Directions:
1. Use enough herbs to cover the bottom of your pan. Use your nose to help get just the scent you want.

2. Add enough water to cover the tops of the herbs.
3. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the water has reduced to a generous tablespoon.
4. Strain and you’re left with a pretty light brown ink. You could always add a drop or two of black ink to darken the color.

The little ladies really enjoyed writing and drawing with wonderfully smelling ink and the gorgeous white feathers.

Thanks for the feathers Granny!

You could use any wonderful smelling herb for this activity. I think we will try a peppermint/lavender ink next time; it would be great for writing holiday cards. Who wouldn’t love a peppermint scented card for the holidays!?!?
Oooh, and a handmade gift of  scented ink, a calligraphy pen,  and homemade paper would be a lovely holiday gift idea! If you use the ink as a gift, you must add calligraphy ink to it or the herb solution will mold.

I used thrift sweaters for these happy little guys. No knitting skills needed!

What I used to make the Get Well Gremlins:
thrift sweaters- wool and cotton
wool blend felt
embroidery floss
scissors
thick yarn
buttons
needle
pins
stuffing
FREE PATTERN DOWNLOAD 
sewing machine (optional)

Directions:
1. Download pattern,  lay out, and cut pieces leaving a 3/4 inch seam allowance if you are using a sewing machine to stitch up the gremlin. If you use a sweater with a very loose weave like the one shown here, leave a larger seam allowance. This weave likes to unravel if you’re not careful.

2. Hand-stitch pupils (buttons) onto the eyes, then stitch the eyes (running stitch) onto the gremlin.

 3. Whipstitch  the pocket onto the belly using a thick yarn. If using a sweater, this pocket will stretch as you stitch, keep this in mind when placing the pocket.

4. Put right sides together and pin, LOTS of pins are necessary to prevent rolling on the machine.  Sew an overcast stitch 2 times (for reinforcement) if you are using a loose weave like this sweater, it will want to unravel if you don’t! Remember to leave an opening for the stuffing! *If you prefer to hand-stitch the pieces together, whip stitch the pieces on the very edge using very close stitches and overlapping. Use a thick yarn to do this. I whipstitched my frog together and didn’t use a machine; so it can be done.

5. Turn right-side out, stuff and whipstitch the opening closed.  Hand-sew the mouth using a backstitch with the yarn. Hand-stitch the little tooth on; now the gremlin is ready to soothe and heal (or play and cuddle)!

Essential oils to add to cotton ball or small piece of cloth:

Calming oils- to induce sleep or relieve insomnia: lavender, roman camomile, mandarin, petitgrain
Flu/cold soothing essential oils (antiinfectious, antiviral, antibacterial, antiinflammatory): lavender,eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, tea tree, thyme, ravensara

 To go with the get well theme, Karin, from Fleecenik Farm, suggested to make the gremlin big enough to go around a hot water bottle! Love this idea, but the girls were set on a softie this time.  Renee suggested stuffing them with flaxseed or rice to warm them up, another great idea!

**Fantastic book recommendation to learn more about essential oils and aromatherapy- Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child by Valerie Ann Worwood